The invention pertains to a portable grill which is equipped with safety devices and an ergonomic supporting structure carried by an operator. More specifically, the invention relates to a mobile device having a horizontal grill, which may be arranged in front of the body of a person carrying the device, wherein the person is surrounded by a framework including transverse and longitudinal spars and the person may support the frame by various means. At the rear side of the device, at least one power supply unit may be positioned to supply the grill and/or other power-consuming devices via corresponding supply lines.
Two devices described by PCT Publication No. WO94/23630, to Wagner, and German utility model DE 296 16 550 U1, to Harff, are incorporated by reference in their entirety and are discussed below.
Ambulant sales appliances, such as grills with integrated carrying frames supported by or resting in or on the shoe of the vendor are known. For example, WO94/23630 describes an ambulant sales appliance having a grill, a supporting plate situated in front of the vendor on which a cooking appliance is arranged, a horizontal load equalizing plate mounted between two side bars that extend past the vendor towards his back. On either side of the vendor, storage bins are mounted to the side bars. Shoulder belts and a supporting pole, which extends down the leg of the vendor to the vendor's shoe, are required to support the weight of the device.
According to the manufacturer, the appliance described in WO94/23630 weighs about 56 kilograms without goods. Thus, it is impossible to carry it without support and to walk around with it for any period of time. To the contrary, the vendor using this appliance must establish a position promising good sales with the assistance of a second person and must stay there. Thus, this appliance would be considered by the authorities as a stand for sale and, as such, it is subject to approval and is liable to charges for permits, if approved. Therefore, such an appliance has many physical and, consequently, legal defficiencies. This device is not a vendor's tray which can be carried by a vendor in a mobile and self-supporting manner.
Furthermore, another prior art device is presented in German utility model DE 296 16 550 U1, which is described as a carrying device connected with the body. This carrying device is provided with a horizontal grill operated by liquid gas and situated in front of the body of the vendor, a storage bin on either side of his body, a heating gas bottle situated behind the back of the vendor and a horizontal carrying frame secured by shoulder belts. The carrying frame is a one-piece framework forming an octagon. Two spigots are attached to the right and left lateral sides as well as to the back and front transverse sides, respectively, which engage rails that are fastened to the bottom surface of the gas bottle container, the grill, and the two storage bins. The spigots and the rails are provided with boreholes so that an axial safety means can be inserted. A holding device composed of a circular steel plate provides an upright flange at its upper side which is designed for placing the heating gas bottle. In the center of the carrying frame there is a belly band with straps on the left and right sides that come from the body of the vendor and are fastened with their ends to the diagonal sides. Two shoulder belts are releasably connected to the left and right ends, respectively, of the front and back transverse sides. In this carrying frame, the axial safety elements are cotter pins and the openings in the steel plate sections may be multiform.
One of the disadvantages of this sales appliance is that safety cannot be ensured for both the vendor and the public. The German office responsible for safety at work considers the operation of this appliance as particularly dangerous because in case of a possible fainting fit of the vendor or other circumstance where the vendor falls down, the liquid gas can accidentally pour into the device and could cause an explosion. Moreover, according to a statement of the supervisory board for the inspection of foodstuffs in Germany, the carrying device described by this utility model does not include adequate protection from weather factors, bird droppings, etc., and, therefore, it does not meet the requirements of the hygiene regulations. Additionally, due to the dimensions of the grill, the weight of the device is so heavy that it cannot be carried for a long period of time. The transport authority for the state government of Berlin has defined the standard dimensions of a vendor's tray as 1.10 m wide and 0.50 m deep. Here, too, this sales appliance may be considered a normal sales stand because it exceeds these standard dimensions.
Therefore, it is unnecessary for the vendor to carry the whole sales appliance to avoid the permit requirements because this device is considered a normal sales stand needing permits anyway.
Another reason the appliance of the utility model described in DE 296 16 550 U1 is inferior is that the mounting and dismounting process associated with this carrying device requires at least two persons because the vendor cannot get in the grill device when it has been already assembled without taking the risk of upsetting the whole system of supports. When mounting or dismounting the carrying device, a second person must rig up a trestle stand for the vendor to place the sales appliance. Then the sales appliance must be mounted or dismounted from the outside by the second person by putting it together or taking it apart in pieces because the vendor is unable to reach the components. Thus, the vendor is not able to mount or dismount the carrying frame from under or above the sales appliance.
Additionally, the desired freedom of movement is highly limited when using the appliance of this utility model because the shoulder belts are attached to the carrying device in front of the actual working zone of the grill device, thereby interfering with the grilling operation, and because the shoulder belts press on the shoulders and hinder the arms of the operator.